My gut feeling with
this range is that a lot of the hype is media driven and you can see why. When
a well-priced (i.e. cheap) supermarket brings out a skincare line that doesn’t seem
to be utter crap, its not surprising that people will jump on it to be the
answer to all their skincare issues.
Let’s dig in a bit
deeper.
So I went down to my
local Aldi and found a whole aisle of Lacura products. Some are shaving and
hand/body care products which I imagine would be perfectly fine, I am a bit
picky with my razors but a hand cream is a hand cream.
From the narrowed down
list, I can automatically give you some no go products to start with:
Product
|
Don’t do it
|
Facial scrub
|
At best it will do nothing, at worst you will
sandpaper your face, irritating dry skin and risking causing a break out in
acne prone skin. Instead, if you MUST use a physical scrub, go for
No7 Total Renewal Micro-dermabrasion Face
Exfoliator
Yes its more expensive but it will actually
do something for your skin, not cause irritation or broken capillaries. I
learnt the hard way from over use of scrubs
|
Cleansing wipes
|
Unless you’re using these to wipe your bum, I
would stay well away. They contain too much rubbish, and not enough to
actually remove make up. Look at my cleansers post to find a better way
|
So that leaves us with the
cleansers, serums and a LOT of moisturisers. Now bear in mind I have not used
these, and as a beauty junkie constantly trying things, you should take some credence
from the fact that I was not even tempted to pick them up. I am a bit of a
beauty snob but only for ingredients not for prices. That being said, read on
and see why I didn’t take them with my carrots to the check out.
Product
|
Relevant ingredients
|
Verdict
|
What to get instead
|
|
|
Aloe, shea butter, beeswax, glycerin,
niacinamide, jojoba seed oil, silicone, wheat, soy protein ,sodium
hyaluronate, ubiquinone (Co enzyme Q10).
|
There are about 1000 ingredients in this
product, most are preservatives, perfumes and fillers. The niacinamide comes 13th
in the list of ingredients which suggests it is unlikely to be at an
appropriate percentage. The sodium hyaluronate is far too low down to be in
any sizeable amount .
Again, alcohol is present and perfume as well
as soy and wheat
This will do nothing more than moisturise,
which is of course crucial to a healthy skin, you always want the outer layer
of the skin to be healthy and in tact to provide a barrier, but do you really
need 41 ingredients in a product that just moisturises?
The things making this cream feel nice on the
skin are just silicone and various oils which long term really aren’t great
for any skin but are especially bad for acne prone or even blackhead prone
skin
Oh, and the spf is chemical. I suppose better
than nothing but you don’t reapply your moisturiser throughout the day so
your protection will probably last an hour.
|
The ordinary niacinamide serum
The ordinary hyaluronic acid serum
Yes these serums come to £10 rather than
£3.50 but they will last longer and actually work.
The ordinary natural moisturising factors
provides all the ingredients you need for a healthy skin barrier. No
fragrance, no oil, no alcohol, no silicone, no fillers, no crap…and its £4.90
|
Q10 Anti wrinkle renew night
|
Alcohol, beeswax, various palnt oils,
silicone, ubiquinone, sodium hyaluronate, ascorbic acid (vitamin c), retiny
palmitate, retinol
|
Alcohol is the second ingredient
Hyaluronic acid is number 32
Vitamin c is 33 and 34
The retinols are at 35 and 37 sandwiching
some more alcohol
After this there is a list of ingredients
which I can find no use for other than as fillers and as preservatives, and
they include, guess what, more alcohol and more perfume.
Yes there are active ingredients in here but
they will be at such low percentages that they will have no action at all.
|
If you want retinol, use it in a percentage
that will work. If you are concerned with it causing side effects, use one of
the high street brands, la roche posay, Neutrogena, or the Ordinary.You will
get better results, with no irritation, without having to put rubbish on as
well
|
Q10 renew serum
|
Glycerin, seed oils, lactic acid, ubiquinone
|
More alcohol and fragrance, there isn’t even
any hyaluronic acid serum in here. I don’t know what is is renewing other
than the opening mechanism of your purse.
Yes there is lactic acid in here which is
good, but as it is the 20th ingredient its unlikely it will be at
a high enough percentage to work.
|
This serum by the ordinary combines lactic
acid and hyaluronic acid and costs £5.80. It’s a no brainer.
|
Soy restorative serum
|
Glycerin, seed oil, shea butter, more oil and
soy, silicone, sodium hyaluronate, ubiquinone, vitamin c derivative, perfume,
alcohol
|
Again, the product will probably feel lovely
on the skin as it has lots of oil, shea butter and silicone. The active
ingredients are 27 and 32 on the list so again, unlikely to be of any
benefit.
Similarly, vitamin c is extremely unstable
when mixed with water so give it a week and even this low level will be
completely useless
|
Honestly…you’d be better with anything. This
is even more horrifying as serums are meant to be the power player in the
routine.
If you are going to go to the effort of
buying a serum, decide what it is you want it to do. If you want hydration,
go for hyaluronic acid.
The ordinary
or for even more of a budget…
Superdrug
£2.99!!!
If you want collagen boosting and
brightening, go for vitamin C (I will do a post on this soon)
If you want all of the above, go for a
retinol in the evening
|
|
|
Glycerin and flower extracts
|
Perhaps the most worrying thing about this,
is that the second highest ingredient in this…is alcohol
Then there’s a few emollient type things, some
algae etc
|
|
Face wash gel
|
This does not seem to have a foaming agent in
it which is a plus. It also claims to have no fragrance and there does not
seem to be any alcohol.
|
As it only washes off, this would not be a
terrible option.
|
|
Moisturising face wash
|
Sodium laureth sulfate, I stopped reading at
this point
|
As the second ingredient, this will be a foam
packed party. I do not see how it could be moisturising with this amount in.
|
Cereve hydrating cleanser, Good for ALL skin
types
http://www.boots.com/cerave-hydrating-cleanser-236ml-10246701
|
Soy day cream
|
Oxycrylene, seed oils including SUNFLOWWER
OIL, silicone, more seed oil, sodium hyaluronate, ubiquinone, ascorbyl
palmitate, perfume.
|
The spf is the second ingredient which is
actually quite encouraging, it is chemical but if worse came to worst you
would be adequately protected, however, there are no other actives.
|
Go to a different aisle and get some
vegetable oil/sunflower and mix it
with a hyaluronic acid if you feel inclined to use these products
|
Soy restorative night cream
|
Soy oil, glycerin, seed oils, soy extract,
more oil including VEGETABLE OIL, uniquinone, soium hyaluronate, ascorbyl
palmitate, alcohol, perfume
|
I don’t know if I need to say anything here.
The active ingredients are so far down and mixed with water so will be of no
active use.
|
|
These are the interesting ones as these are
the products that the press jumped on as being comparable to La Prairie’s
range which sparked everyone to run down to the supermarket on the promise of
younger looking skin
|
|||
Caviar night cream
|
Glycerin, caviar extract, seed oil, silicone,
perfume, alcohol
|
If you believe caviar extract will make you
look younger then go for it.
To be honest, I wouldn’t even consider buying
La Prairie even if I could afford it as it has few more active ingredients
than this.
See above. Use some active ingredients and
put this over the top if you must
|
|
Caviar day cream
|
Glycerin, silicone, plant and caviar extract,
sodium hyaluronate, perfume, alcohol
|
||
In conclusion, don’t bother. Honestly, using a £5
serum from the ordinary and some e 45 over the top would be more beneficial.
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